A man who loves another man.
The equation seems banal today, but had many complications in the United States in the 1950s. Senator Joseph McCarthy was then at the origin of a veritable witch hunt, not only against communists, but also homosexual people in the American public administration.
It was at this time that the path of Tim Laughlin, a young naive, idealistic and very religious parliamentary attaché, crossed that of Hawkins Fuller, a veteran of the Second World War with a rising career within the State Department, the equivalent of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Very quickly, sparks flew between these two heroes of the series “Fellow Travelers”, adapted from a novel by Thomas Mallon, available in full on MyCanal.
The younger brother is passionate, although torn by the guilt aroused by his religion.
The oldest, for his part, is used to having a series of hidden adventures with different male partners.
Very attached to his reputation, he is in constant control, keeping his young lover at a distance to better lure him back into his net.
Their relationship can only be written in the shadows, in clandestine gay clubs or behind the closed doors of their apartments.
Not ideal for an epic romance.
Far from being chronological, the story begins in the 1980s, when Hawkins, married to a woman and father of a family, goes to the bedside of Tim, suffering from AIDS.
We quickly understand that their story is far from being a continuous thread.
The pages between the initial chapter and the epilogue are revealed little by little throughout the episodes, multiplying the back and forth between the different decades.
A rare alchemy
The hairstyles and makeup used to ensure the credibility of the actors at different times are not the most successful, but it is a detail as the strength of the interpretation takes over.
The central duo is masterful.
Matt Bomer (“FBI: A Very Special Duo,” “Magic Mike,” “Doom Patrol”), 46, plays Hawkins Fuller.
His steel blue eyes and his always impeccable style reinforce his natural charisma which shines on the screen.
Opposite him, Jonathan Bailey, 35, plays an ultrasensitive Tim Laughlin, very different from the aristocratic role that popularized him in “The Bridgerton Chronicles”, on Netflix.
These two have rare chemistry.
The ardent and particularly explicit sex scenes take on a powerful, sometimes poetic dimension.
And even if these may bother some viewers, they are full of meaning for the overall plot.
This stormy central romance, while often toxic, proves heartbreaking.
Through this impossible couple, the whole portrait of a society and different eras is also drawn in “Fellow Travelers”.
A part of history that it is not in vain to revisit to understand the different facets that give perspective to today's world.
We fell in love with this fiction which left us in tears.
Editor's note:
5/5
“Fellow Travelers”,
American series by Ron Nyswaner (2023), with Matt Bomer, Jonathan Bailey, Jelani Alladin… Eight episodes of 52 to 64 minutes each.
Available on MyCanal.